Improvement in the manner of propelling boats upon canals or other shoal water by the



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N- FErFnS, PHDTGLITNDGHA UNITED STATES liareNT (Irrsinn,

METALEN BATTEL, 0F ALBANY, NEW' YORK.

IMPROVEMENT IN THE MANNER 0F PROPELLING BOATS UPON CANALS OR OTHER SHOALWATER BY THE AGENCY OF STEAM.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 5,520, dated OctoberIl, i840.

1'0 @ZZ whom it 11mg/ concer/z..-

Be it known that I, MELLEN BATTEL, ofthe city of Albany, inthe State ofNew lYork, have invented an Improvement in the Manner of IropellingBoats upon Canals or other Shoal lVaters by the Agency of Steam; and Ido hereby declare that the following is a full and exact descriptionthereof.

I construct my boats cit-her with one or with i two decks; but l preferthose with two decks where the canal will admit of boats of thisconstruction, as the stean'i-engine and propelling apparatus may in thiscase be placed below, and, with the cooking-apartments and crew, beseparated from the passengers, who may occupy the upper part.

My main improvement, however, consists in the manner in which Iconstruct my propelling-wheel and combine it with a vibrating frame, thesteam -engine, and its appurtenances. My propelling-wheel I make oflarge diameter, say from twelve to eighteen feet, more or less, and I soconstruct it as to adapt it to run upon the ground at the bottom ofthecanal, and to propel the boat in great part by its bearing upon andfriction against the bottom, or where the water is ot' such a depth asnot to allow the wheel to touch the bottom, or when from any other causeit is prevented from so doing it shall then act as an ordinarypropelling.,71 or paddle wheel. I prefer so to arrange the buckets ortio-ats by which the propelling is effected as that they shall dip intoand leave the water in a vertical position, for which purpose they arehung upon gudgeons and their vertical position is preserved by means ofcranks and an eccentric wheel, or in any of the modes known and used forproducing this effect, the same not making any part of my invention.

My propelliiig-wheel, which I denominate the combined ground and paddlewheel, I place in the line of the middle of the boat, which may for thatpurpose assume the form of a twin boat, or it may be constructed with anopening or well passing through the bottom and deck, ashas frequentlybeen done in boats propelled by a single wheel. The rims of my wheelwhich are to roll upon the ground I connect firmly together bycross-bars between each of th(` buckets and near to their peripheries.

My combined wheel runs in boxes placed near to one end of a vibratingframe, by means of which frame the wheel may be raised or lowered, andwhich, when the wheel rests upon the ground, allowsitto rise and fall.andcompletely to adapt itself to the'ineqnalities ol the bottom. I placemysteam-cylinders at or near the end of the vibrating frame opposite tothat which sustains the wheel. lhese cylinders I make with hollowgudgeons for the induction and the eduetion of the steam, these gndgeonsbeing situated in the center of the axis upon which the beam vibrates.The steam is admitted and discharged through these gndgeons, whichafford a passage for the steam through the induction andthe ed uctiontubes formed on the body of the cylinder in the ordinary way. Thesteam-pipe leading from the boiler connects with a valve-box attached toone of these gudgeons,and said boxes being furnished with valves forgoverning the admission and discharge of steam which do not differ fromthose used in other engines, nor do I designate or confine myself to anyparticular kind of valve or engine, intending to use those either ofhigher of low pr assure, as may be preferred. When the combined wheelrests upon the ground, its adhesion will be determined by the weight ofthe wheel. and of the vibrating bcam,and this maybe made as great as maybe thought necessary, and to regulate this according to circumstances Iattach chains or cords to said beam and allow these to pass overpulleys, by which any counter-weight that is necessary may be applied.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a side view of my propellingapparatus as seen in a double-decked canal-boat, a vertical sectionbeing made through said boat from stem to stern. Q isone of the rimsofmy combined wheel, and \v one of its gndgeons running in boxes on thevibrating vframe G G. O ne of the steam-cylinders is shown at L, restingon the opposite end of said beam. "W is one of the gudgeons upon whichthe beam vibrates, and. which contains one of the hollow gudgeons of thesteam-cylinder. I represents the steamboiler, and O a steam-pipe leadingto one of the cylinders. The other side beam of the vibrating framesustains in like manner a steam-cylindcr and its appnrteuances, as isdistinctly shown in llig. The shalt of the propelling-wheel has twocranks, one on cach side ol the wheel, standing at right angles to eachother and operated upon by the pistonrods ol' the cylindersrespectively. K is one of the pit-men attached t-o one 0f the cranks andto the slide of one of the piston-rods. A is a weight appended to achain which serves to counterpoise the weight of the wheel when desired,and li is a windlass by which the frame and wheel may be raised whenrcquired.

Fig. 2 is a birds-eye or top View ot' the propeiling` apparatus. G- G isthe vibrating frame; L L, the two steam-cylinders; M M, the inductionand ed uction boxes. K K are the pitmen attached to the two cranks a. cton the crankshaft l, and to the slides olf the respective cylinders. lsF are the buckets of the wheel, and E E the bars connecting` the rims QQ of the propelling-wheel, there being one such bar between cach of thebuckets, their oice not being merely to connect the rims of the wheel;but their most important use is to take hold ot' the ground, and thus toaid in the propelling when the wheel runs on the bottom ofthe canal, thewheel not being furnished with spikes to enter and hold onto the ground,the injurious effects of which are apparent. S S is the planking of thewell inclosing the wheel.

Figs. and -L are two cross-sections of boats, the two differing somewhatin form, but being in other respects similar. lhc parts shown in thesefigures and in Fig. 5 are designated by the same letters of reference asthose used in Figs. l and 2.

Fig. 5 is a similar section oi' a common canal-boat.

Having thus fully described the nature of my improvement and shown themanner in which I carry the same into operation, what I claim asconstituting my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

The manner in which I have constructed. combined, and arranged therespective parts by which the propelling is eiected--that is to say, theforming of the combined ground and paddle wheel so as to run upon thebottom of a canal and to propel the boat by the hold or friction of thecross-bars and. the rims alone, and when raised from the bottom toeitectthe propelling by the buckets or paddles, said wheels beingconnected and combined with a vibrating frame within the body of theboat, which frame also sustains the steam-cylinder in the manner setforth, and the respective parts concerned in the operation of propellingbeing arranged and operating substantially in the manner hereindescribed.

MELLEN BAT' EL \Vitnesses:

'.lHos. P. JoNEs, Gnostic WEST.

